Waiting
by SugarDee
Summary: Hermione likes waiting, unlike anybody else. But as time goes on, she starts to hate it. Will she still hate waiting even after he's back?


_A/N: I was in the middle of writing something else when this idea came up. Well, hopefully it's enjoyable._

_**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to JK Rowling._

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WAITING

Nobody liked waiting. Except her. She liked to wait because then she could kill the time by reading a book. Be it for an hour or just a few minutes, she still had the patience to wait. Even if she had to wait until the day ended, she still felt grateful for she could finish the book since no-one was there to disturb her.

Other than reading a book, she could also clean her room. She could always use magic, of course. But she preferred doing it by hands since her parents taught her to do so. And because it felt like something on her shoulders had been lifted off.

Once when she was still young, long before she knew she could do magic, she was asked by her mother to clean her closet while waiting for her father to come back. She didn't want to do it at first. But when she was told there's a reward waiting for her, she quickly went up to her room and started on her task, leaving her mother chuckling on the kitchen.

But that was then – when she knew that the result of waiting was worth it. When she knew that something good would come out in the end. When she knew that everything would be all right.

Now she hated waiting. In fact, she _loathed_ it.

"Where the bloody hell _is_ he?" she murmured, looking out the windows for the umpteenth time that day.

"Calm down, Hermione. I'm sure he's fine wherever he is now."

"How can I calm down?" exclaimed Hermione, turning around to face the speaker. "He said he's coming home today. And it's almost six, yet he's still out there," she turned around again, "doing whatever only Merlin knows."

"Well, he's not alone, is he? So should something happens to him, Merlin forbids, he would –"

"Oh my God, what if something bad happens to him? And I'm not there with him." Hermione then started panicking, pacing the room from left to right. "What if he gets injured and he can't walk? All he can do is crawl, screaming my name. And I'm so far away, I can't hear his voice." She gasped. "What if he –"

"Hermione! Will you stop with the 'what-if's?" interrupted Ginny. "It's not helping." She motioned her to take a seat across from her and shoved a cup of tea towards Hermione. "Just have a seat and drink this tea. Blimey, Hermione. You're more worried than most of us are."

The older girl took a sip of the tea, closing her eyes as the liquid went down her throat. She put the cup down. "I'm sorry, Ginny. You know that it's my first time alone after our marriage," she blushed, not daring to look up and see her sister in law. "The house is really empty without him whining about his work, or asking me to make some food for him. I'm not used to that, ever since I met your family."

Ginny laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Oh I'm not saying it's a bad thing," Hermione shook her head. "I mean I was a bit shocked when I first went to the Burrow. But it's a nice change; my house was never as lively as yours since there were only my parents and me. And I'm used to it now." She smiled. "I really love it when everyone comes for the brunch every Sunday in the Burrow."

Ginny nodded. "Me too," she mumbled before taking a sip on her tea.

Looking at her own tea in front of her, Hermione asked, "Ginny, why are you so calm? Aren't you worried about Harry?"

"Well, of course I am. How can I not be? I'll be mental if I'm not." Ginny sighed. "Actually in the morning, I did what you did just now: panicking, looking out the windows, going around the house. But I got tired because of my feet." She unconsciously placed her hand on her swollen stomach. "I was going to the Burrow when you came actually."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. Mum would most probably go barmy if I did. She doesn't allow me to Floo _and_ Disapparate alone. How old does she think I am? I'm married!"

Hermione grinned. "She's just worried, Ginny. You're her only daughter and you're pregnant."

"Yeah, I know that," she sighed. Ginny looked up. "But I'm really relieved that you're here, Hermione. I'd probably kill myself if you hadn't come and keep me company."

Hermione softly chuckled. "Well, I've got to get out of the house before _I_ kill myself. It's just too quiet." She gulped down the rest of her tea. "I couldn't even concentrate when reading my books, you know. That's how silent it is at home."

"Wow, that's a first: you not concentrating. I should tell Harry and Ron when they come back."

Both of them laughed for awhile, before sobering up.

Hermione stood from her seat. "Do you mind if I get another tea?"

"Go ahead," replied Ginny, motioning with her hand. "Why do you still ask for my permission? We're already a family."

"Old habits die hard," mumbled Hermione as she poured herself a tea. She went back to her seat, sighing. "I used to really like waiting, did you know that?" she said, stirring her tea. "Because then I could do something else to kill the time. But I've already done everything I could think of. I even went to the Diagon Alley."

"Alone?" asked Ginny. After getting a nod from her sister in law, she continued, "Why didn't you ask me to come with you? I was bored too."

"Then your Mum would come and murder me."

"Of course she wouldn't; you're her favourite daughter in law after all," she praised her, causing Hermione to blush. "Besides, I'm allowed to go anywhere as long as somebody is there with me, just in case something happens."

"But I wouldn't know what to do if something happens."

"Wow, that's another first: you not knowing what to do. I thought you knew everything."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Just because I read a lot of books, doesn't mean I know everything, Ginny."

Ginny shrugged. "Well, we can just not tell her."

Hermione snorted. "That's not possible, Ginny. _She_ knows everything."

"Because of that blasted clock," she said before finishing up her drink. She suddenly placed the cup on the table, surprising the guest in the process. "Wait a minute. That blasted clock knows everything, doesn't it?" Ginny looked at Hermione. "It should know where Harry and Ron are right now, don't you think?"

"Yes, of course. We could go there and wait until it points to home." Hermione paused. "But what about your mother?"

"I told you, Hermione: as long as I'm with someone that my Mum trusts, it's okay." Ginny slowly stood up and made the move to pick up the used cups. But Hermione beat her to it.

"No, you go get ready, I'll clean up," she said, before quickly finishing her tea.

Half an hour later, they found themselves in the Burrow, having dinner with Molly Weasley. At first Hermione refused, but she didn't want to eat dinner by herself at home that night. So she was really glad for having people for dinner.

"Ginny dear, are you going to sleep here?"

Nodding, Ginny swallowed her food before looking at her mother. "You won't allow me to go back alone anyway. And I don't want to _be_ alone at home either."

Mrs Weasley only smiled at her daughter's response. She then looked at her daughter in law. "Hermione, what about you, dear? Are you staying here as well?"

"Yes, if you don't mind. Being alone is the farthest thing on my mind right now."

She smiled even more. "Of course I don't mind, dear. Whatever makes you think that I would? You don't even have to ask me."

"Old habits die hard," said Hermione, shrugging her shoulders.

Mrs Weasley nodded. She was going to continue eating when she remembered something, "Oh, I almost forgot: how would Harry and Ron know that you two are here?"

"I wrote a note for Harry, telling him that we're here. Hopefully he reads it and tells Ron before both of them go to bed."

After dinner had finished, Ginny and Hermione volunteered to clean up the kitchen while the older woman got ready for bed. Having done that, both girls went to Ginny's old room to have a little chat before they each went to take a rest – Hermione in Ron's old room whereas Ginny stayed.

Reaching her husband's old room, Hermione opened the door quietly, hoping nobody would hear any noise. As soon as she's inside, she closed the door as quiet and opened the windows.

Staring outside, she muttered, "Oh Ron, where _are_ you?" Sighing, Hermione then walked around his room, touching everything she could reach while slowly strolling. In the end, she reached his bed where she carefully pulled down the blanket and got inside to lie down. She rolled to her side, her back facing the door. She blissfully sighed as she could somehow smell Ron's scent on his pillow which calmed her a bit.

Unfortunately that made everything worse: she missed him even more.

"Ron, please come back soon," she whispered, brushing the tears that had started to pour without her knowing. "I can't take this anymore."

Then, she heard it: the front door being opened and closed. She wasn't really enthusiastic though as it might just be Mr Weasley returning from a long day at work. So Hermione only stayed in her position, weeping.

Suddenly the door to Ron's room opened, light from the lamp outside shining through. Hermione hurriedly brushed her tears and sat up to look at the intruder. Realising who it was, she widened her eyes and ran towards him, throwing her arms around him who returned the hug.

"Oh Ron, you're finally here," said Hermione, shedding even more tears.

Ron ran his hand along her back, soothing her. "I'm here, love." He kissed his wife's forehead. "Please, don't cry. You know I hate it when you do." He pulled away to look at her in the eye. "I'm home, 'Mione," he said as he brushed her tears away.

Hermione smiled and stood on her toes, pulling his head closer. "Welcome home, Ron," she said just before their lips met.

Before things started to get interesting, Hermione pulled away, much to Ron's disappointment. Panting, she looked up, running her fingers through his soft hair. She smiled when she saw the look on his face.

"Why did you stop?" asked Ron. "Don't you miss me?"

"Of course I do," she giggled. She pecked his lips. "It's just that we're in your parents' house. Anyone can hear _and_ see us since you left the door open."

"Well first of all, Hermione my love, you were the one who ran into me before I got the chance to close the door," he said, causing her to blush. "Second of all, everyone is asleep. Nobody can hear _and_ see us."

"Still..."

Ron started kissing her neck. "Let's go home."

"No," she replied simply, causing Ron to whine. "We're sleeping here tonight. I've already promised your mother that I'll have breakfast here." She pulled him away to look at him. "So unless you want to sleep by yourself tonight _and_ eat breakfast alone tomorrow morning, we should stop." She placed her hand on his cheek. "Aren't you tired, Ron?"

He just nodded.

"Then, let's go to sleep," said Hermione, leaning closer again to kiss his lips.

After closing the door slowly, Ron followed Hermione to his old bed. He took the space beside her, wrapping his arms around her petite body. He kissed her forehead.

Before, Hermione liked waiting because she knew it beforehand that everything would be well. Then she hated waiting because the man she loved didn't come by the time she expected him to be home. But now, as she was wrapped in Ron's arms, she thought all the waiting was worth it.

She kissed his lips again, leaving both of them breathless. "I really love you, Ron," Hermione declared. Before he could interrupt, she placed her fingers in front of his lips. "And I'm glad you're finally back. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"Well judging by the way you kissed me just now, I think I have an idea," said Ron, before kissing her. "I love you too, 'Mione. And there's not a single minute when I didn't even think of you."

Hermione smiled, hugging him closer.

_I love waiting._

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_A/N: Til next time.. Oh wait, don't forget to review._


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